Techtite's DVD Reviews!

"Not to be confused with the rather dull- by- comparison remake that aired on Cartoon Network back in 2002, this DVD consists of ten episodes of the real deal..."

--from the review

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The Best of He-Man: 

10 Episode Collector's Edition

DVD version (Two Disc set)

Also available on PSP! (Two Volumes)

Click pictures to order.

A Techtite Review

As always, a review of both the series and The DVD (extras!)

The Series: Not to be confused with the so-so-by-comparison remake that aired on Cartoon Network back in 2002, this DVD consists of ten episodes of the real deal: the top ten, crème-de-la-crème episodes of the classic 1980's cartoon series, He-man and the Masters of the Universe...At long last, now on DVD!

The agnostic animation fan may ask what all the fuss is about, especially if all they have seen is the far less flashy anime-style 2002 version. Forget that please! There is so much to love in this original He-man cartoon I don't know where to begin. How about one of the coolest transformations into a super-hero in cartoon history? Prince Adam raises his magic sword and says, "By the power of greyskull," only to have three lightning blasts of magic blast into his sword like a lightning rod until --kabam!-- Adam is He-Man. "I have the powerrrrrr!" he shouts as his pet tiger becomes "Battle Cat," with a roar. This scene occurred in every episode, and it never once got boring.

Yet what really sells a cartoon is the imaginative writing. The best cartoons are the ones that attempt something in animation form that would cost millions of dollars in live-action FX. This series had great writing in spades, with writers that included the likes of the Batman Animated Series' own Paul Dini. It's of little surprise to fans of Batman that many of the episodes in this "best of" set were written by Paul himself. These were the tales he wrote near the start of his cartoon writing career, over half a decade before anything "Batman." Cooooool...

What ten episodes are we talking about? Fans voted online, via one of the largest He-man fan sites, as to what were their favorite episodes. The votes were divided among the top 5 favorites from "season one," and the top five from season two. Here's a short run-down:

Disc One:

• Evilseed: An evil wizard made entirely of plants is intending to overrun Eternia with his vines of destruction. The only way to stop him is to make it snow...but that requires Skeletor's help.

• Quest for He-Man: One of Skeletor's most powerful spells against He-man gives him amnesia, and then banishes him to another dimension....where He-man winds up saving a whole other world.

• Prince Adam No More: 

• Diamond Ray of Disappearance: In what is interesting because it is formatted much like the series' pilot episode, every enemy is introduced, and every story element explained, as He-man deals with a diamond that sends anyone who views it to "nowhere."

• Teela's Quest: In one of the bigger character developments of season one, we learn the lineage of Teela, and her destiny.

Disc Two:

• Into the Abyss: Teela falls into the bottomless abyss of power that surrounds Castle Greyskull. The cool part; she (and we) get to see first-hand what happens down there, when Adam activates his powers to become He-man.

• Teela's Triumph: Teela is surprised when she is called upon to be Sorceress of Greyskull in the Sorceress' sudden absence. The most touching part of the episode is when Teela has a conversation with the Sorceress herself, after her return.

• To Save Skeletor: Skeletor stupidly conjures up a demon more powerful than any one sorcerer in all Eternia. They must all --good and evil-- join their powers to send the demon back.

• The Problem with Power: It has been said Goblins have no heart, literally. Can a goblin in disguise trick He-man into thinking he's killed an innocent, so he gives up being He-man all by himself?

• Origin of the Sorceress: One interesting part of this story of how the Sorceress became the protector of Greyskull is the shot of two --not just one-- sword of power; a prelude to what would eventually become the series' spin-off series, She-Ra.

[Note: in the PSP UMD versions of these discs, Volume one is "disc one"/season one, and Volume two is "disc two"/season two]

True, it would've been even nicer to have as many episodes to enjoy as the fans of Thundercats have, with the whole first half of season one on DVD. Yet Thundercats' DVDs were clearly rushed by comparison, with many audio and video errors. These are fully remastered versions of these episodes, with crystal clarity and not a single scratch in the audio. One can only hope this is a prelude of what's to come in the full season one set, due for release in early October 2005. For now, the top ten episodes, in DVD format, will definitely suffice. 

---Techtite

The DVD: I think it's a major testament to this series' fan base that the distributors of this DVD set have decided to release it for the PSP as well as in standard DVD format. Mind you; the PSP version is sold as two separate discs, and does not include the bonus features of the DVD special edition set. However, if you're on the go a lot, it's pretty cool to see your favorite He-Man episodes in crystal-clarity on a PSP screen. But who doesn't want to see those extras? ...especially when they confess that a full season of He-man is coming our way on DVD, as early as October 18th? Cool!

Does this promise of He-man's full first season mean that sales for this DVD will plummet? No. These are the top ten best episodes, after all, as voted by fans. No offense but not every episode of He-man was flawless. These ten episodes were. There's also all those extras. Each disc is given its own featurette, in relation to that season. Those of us with DVD drives on the PC can enjoy scripts of key episodes, while-you-watch.

More fun! Included with this DVD set (probably for a limited time, however) are 2 small 4x6 art cards by comic artists Bruce Timm and Adam Hughes, each drawn in the spirit of the classic He-man cartoons. Add some amusing trivia and fun facts in the menus for each episode, and you have a fitting example of what made this series such a hit back in the day. The original He-man cartoons were clearly a labor of love. It would appear this DVD set was as well.

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